


Fling

by vega_voices



Series: Come Rain, Come Shine [4]
Category: Murphy Brown (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 11:04:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15241989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vega_voices/pseuds/vega_voices
Summary: “First off, I don’t care that you’re older than me and if you don’t get that by now, we’re in trouble.” He kissed her. She sighed into the moment. “As for my brother,” Josh said. “I know it’s a thing. But I’m only here for a week, and I want to see more of you.”





	Fling

**Title:** Fling  
**Author:** vegawriters  
**Fandom:** Murphy Brown  
**Pairing:** Murphy/Josh  
**Rating:** Mature  
**Timeframe:** The Brothers Silverberg (season 2)  
**A/N:** Come on. We all want to know what happened between Josh and Murphy. Okay. I do.  
**Disclaimer:** Diane English is God, Candice Bergen is a queen, and I don’t make a single penny from this. In fact, I should be writing other stuff. So, of course I’m writing this. If Diane wants someone to novelize Murphy, I’m on board, but she won’t read this, so I’m also probably safe.

 **Summary:** _“First off, I don’t care that you’re older than me and if you don’t get that by now, we’re in trouble.” He kissed her. She sighed into the moment. “As for my brother,” Josh said. “I know it’s a thing. But I’m only here for a week, and I want to see more of you.”_

“Reservations are at eight,” Josh said. “I’ll pick you up at seven?”

She hadn’t felt this instant rush of sexual tension since before she stopped drinking. There had been a few men over the past few months - mostly a date to a fundraiser or dinner. The sex had even been pretty good with the ones she went to bed with, but really, she wasn’t focused on more than the occasional date. So, looking into Josh Silverberg’s eyes and trying to maintain some sense of professionalism while she also needed to change her underwear was a pretty difficult task.

God above, he was gorgeous. And smart. And an environmental … well. He was a lawyer, which broke her rule about not dating lawyers, but if she just dragged him into the bathroom and had her way with him, that wasn’t really a date, was it?

Was it?

God, she needed to let this go. He was … 27. He was 27 but he wouldn’t stop looking at her like she was the only woman in the world and he was doing it with his brother at the table (was Miles still there?) And he wanted to take her to dinner. Tonight. And she knew she should ask Miles (was he still there?) but really, she just hoped that dinner was a cover for something better.

Miles had left, thankfully. A call back to the office. Josh had a meeting. Murphy was just in shock. This couldn’t be what it felt like. Could it?

“I’m sorry for being such an idiot,” Josh said as he walked her to the door. “But you’re even more beautiful in person and I’m …” he laughed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she was blushing. “Thank you, actually. It … feels nice.” She scribbled her address and phone number down on his legal pad. “Here. I’ll see you later. I’ve got a story to finish.”

***

This was insane. She was going out to dinner with a guy who, technically, biologically, she could have given birth to. Of course, if she were a man, no one would care. But she wasn’t. She wasn’t supposed to be the older one. So of course she was sitting at her vanity in one of the “youngest” looks she owned. An off the shoulder sweater she’d never planned on actually wearing. Maybe if she put her hair up, she’d take ten years off her face.

God. This was nuts. If he hadn’t told her how beautiful she was before they left Phil’s, she would have talked herself out of the idea that this was a date. But it was. And so she smoothed out the laugh lines as best she could and chose her lightest shade of lipstick and really, this hair was stupid but she was committed now.

This was dumb.

But the doorbell rang and she had to get moving, so she slipped her feet into open toed pumps and prayed Josh wouldn’t laugh at her. She felt like an idiot.

He didn’t laugh. He met her eyes and reached out his hand and stroked his thumb across her cheek. “I meant what I said. You’re beautiful. Please don’t think you need to age yourself down for me.” God. He got it. She was about to die. Instead, he leaned in and surprised the hell out of her.

The kiss was gentle, but hardly chaste. His hand was on her hip and her fingers tightened in his hair while their bodies moved from inches apart to pressed together. She didn’t miss how the hand on her hip traveled down, tugging lightly at her skirt. If Miles wasn’t waiting at the restaurant, she’d have skipped the reservations and ordered pizza. It was still tempting.

“Wow,” she said when they pulled apart. “Keep that up and we might have a problem here.”

Josh chuckled. “Too forward?”

“Just forward enough.” She shook her head. “Josh, is this such a good idea? You’re here to see Miles, not …”

“Flirt with his star reporter?” His hands were still on her hips. She wasn’t pulling away.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to be completely bowled over by you, no. But, Murphy, I am.”

They stood in silence for a long moment. She ran her fingers down the front of his shirt and shook her head. “What are we going to do about this?”

“Let’s go to dinner,” Josh suggested. “See what happens. And if what … well … I would like to have happen does, we’ll figure it out from there.” He paused again. “Too forward?”

She shook her head. “You read my mind.”

She grabbed her purse and followed him out the door to his rental car, not missing how his eyes roved over her Porsche. It attracted most men. He got credit for not asking her to drive. He got more credit for opening the door for her and taking her hand as she slipped into the passenger side of his Toyota.

“We’ve got some time. Let’s take the scenic route?” Josh asked, his voice just a tad hesitant. He started the car and looked over at her and in that moment, she was again ready to skip dinner and see what those full lips of his could do for her.

“I like it,” she agreed.

Josh knew DC and took off toward the route around the Bay, maneuvering the roads with one hand on the wheel and the other on her knee. Part of her wanted to encourage him, slide his hand up her thigh, the other loved the rush of the anticipation of romance. The moon was as large as she’d ever seen it, and finally, Josh pulled off into a viewpoint over the water, leaned over, and kissed her again.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “But the lights and the moon and you …”

“Don’t be sorry,” she said. His hand was moving up, teasing her thighs, and his mouth was on her neck, and she laced her fingers in his hair. It had been a long time since she made out in a car, and sitting here like this, she’d need to work it back into her bag of tricks.

His lips found hers again and she lost herself in the kiss, the rush of sensation. This wasn’t just a date and good chemistry teasing her into bed. This was pure hormone driven fun. It had been a while.

“Murphy …” Josh murmured as he pulled back. “Will you let me come home with you after dinner?”

“What about Miles?” She asked, trying to keep some sense of decorum, hoping he would brush her off.

He took a breath. “Can we talk about that after?”

She had to chuckle. “Sure. But, we’ll be late. And as much as I want this to continue, and I really, really, really do … I don’t want to put Miles in an awkward position. So let’s go to dinner.”

Josh nodded and straightened his tie - which Murphy had loosened. He restarted the car and Murphy leaned over, getting as close as the seats would allow. Josh draped an arm around her and they headed back into the city.

Outside Sardella’s, the valet took the car and Murphy was suddenly self conscious again. She shouldn’t have worn her hair up but it was too late now. Josh just held her hand and, as they entered the restaurant, he stopped and veered to the left where a street vendor had roses for sale. He plucked a white one from the bucket and handed over the cash, presenting it to Murphy. “It matches your outfit,” he said. She blushed and allowed the kiss.

***

Josh’s lips on hers allowed her to forget the awkwardness of dinner. Of Miles being horrified at her outfit, at how Josh was with her, of the weirdness with Miles’ date. She knew he hadn’t been dating her as long as the stories she told hinted at. She forgot the waiter being an ass and saying she didn’t need to show ID (not like she’d have been drinking anyway) and she even forgot how she’d refused to put on her glasses to see the menu.

Josh’s hotel was closer, but he drove her home. And as he opened her car door for her, she rested her hand on his chest. “Do you want to pretend to come in for coffee?”

And he’d kissed her then and then again inside the front door and then again after she took his hand and led him up to her bedroom. She’d had the foresight to make the bed and kick the dirty laundry under the bed. They didn’t talk again for an hour, save for gentle encouragement and references to deities as they came. Only when Josh rolled off of her and discarded the condom did the silence break. They looked into each other’s eyes and laughed.

“Well. If that’s what a day of anticipation leads to, I’ll take it,” she teased, running her hand down his chest.

“Same here. Wow. You’re amazing.”

She pursed her lips. “Sometimes us older ladies know what we’re doing.”

He laughed. “You really do.”

Murphy kissed his cheek. “So what do we do about this, Josh? And I don’t just mean Miles.”

“First off, I don’t care that you’re older than me and if you don’t get that by now, we’re in trouble.” He kissed her. She sighed into the moment. “As for my brother,” Josh said. “I know it’s a thing. But I’m only here for a week, and I want to see more of you.” His hand was moving down her body, teasing slowly. “I want to do more of this.”

Murphy ignored the reality that he was only here for a few days. That by next week, he’d be back in New York, chasing around girls his own age. That they were notches on each other’s bedposts. That New York wasn’t that far away. She focused instead on Josh’s hand. His mouth. The weight of his body as he pressed her back into the bed. How his hands commanded her thighs. How good he felt as he slid into her body again. Even if this was all it ended up being, she was going to enjoy it.  
  
Around two AM, he finally pulled away. “I … really should go. I’m having breakfast with Miles and I feel like maybe I shouldn’t talk to him about you right after leaving your bed.”

She sighed, dramatically, and rolled over, knowing he was enjoying the view of her body. “That’s fair. I mean, it will make my conversation with him a lot less awkward.”

“So we’re decided then?” Josh sounded hopeful. It made her smile.

“If I can have what we had tonight for the next week, I’ll take it.”

“I’ve got research meetings this morning,” was Josh’s reply. “But lunch? At the hotel?”

She smirked. “Presumptuous?”

“Hoping.” He leaned down and kissed her and she almost pulled him back down on top of her. “If I don’t go,” he murmured, “I won’t. And I really should. Even if I don’t want to.”

It took every ounce of self control she’d ever possessed to swallow back her desire for him to stay. Instead, she threw a robe over her naked body and walked him to the door. He kissed her and left and she wandered, slowly, back up the stairs for a shower before crashing, completely spent, into her bed. Everything still smelled of him, of them, and as sleep finally claimed her, Murphy let The Dater wander back into her brain and take control of her dreams.

***

  
Her conversation with Miles ran through her brain as Murphy made her way to Josh’s door. Miles had been so mature about it - far more mature than she would have been - and now she just had to remember that Josh wasn’t just here for her, but to see his brother. Something that was hard to focus on when Josh answered the door by pulling her into his arms and pressing her up against the nearest flat surface.

“I thought,” she teased during a break for air, “that we were going to discuss the finer points of environmental law.” His hand was already up her skirt.

“Later,” he groaned. “God. Later.”

It had been a long time since she’d been in any kind of relationship with this kind of excitement. They tumbled onto his bed, tugging at clothes, rushing to a climax that they’d been sitting on the edge of since his kiss at 2 AM. Quickies and nooners were something she’d tucked away for fantasy dabbling and now here she was, in a hotel room, gasping out to any god that would listen while his tongue flicked and pressed against her clit. How could she go back to work after this?

Spent, he collapsed next to her and she watched his hand draw lazy patterns on her stomach. “What was that about environmental law?” He teased. She laughed and rolled off the bed. Unlike last night, they couldn’t linger.

“Seriously, what does your afternoon look like? I’d love to chat.” She paused as she disappeared into the bathroom. Emerging a few moments later, she picked up where she left off. “We should meet in neutral territory.”

“You mean, a place where I can’t tug your skirt over your hips again?”

She chuckled. “That too.” Murphy pulled her slip back over her head and wiggled back into the suit Josh had so expertly pulled from her body.

“Let’s have an early dinner. At Phil’s. And then I’ll be able to meet up with Miles after.”

“Sounds good.” Dressed, she moved back to the bed for a kiss. “I’ll see you around four?”

“See you then.” He almost succeeded in tugging her back onto the bed, but she untangled herself and made her way back out into the corridor, glad for the quiet of midafternoon. It wouldn’t do for the tabloids to see her sneaking out of a hotel room in the middle of the day.

***

  
Okay. So. Miles had a problem with it. Damnit.

He crashed dinner, making a point to sit between them. The conversation became an interview, and every time Josh reached across the table to take her hand, Miles interrupted. Josh suggested a movie for all three of them, Miles chose the later time, meaning Murphy would have to meet them at the theater. At least she was able to maneuver to sit in the middle during the movie, and Josh kept his arm around her the whole time.

But Miles followed them back to her place, his realization of their physical relationship obviously manifesting. Probably from the kiss Murphy had lost herself in halfway through the movie. She just hoped that he didn’t know exactly what they’d already been up to, and that if he had any idea, he was living in denial.

But Miles had a problem with it. And even after he’d left, the emotion between her and Josh changed. He tried to shrug it off, he tried to be the smart older brother, tried to lose himself in their chemistry, but he couldn’t focus and Murphy didn’t like the idea of even an invisible Miles hanging out in the room.

So, he left. Off to find his brother. Murphy fell into bed and didn’t even bother with her vibrator. This was a new record, really. How fast this had crashed and burned was pretty impressive. But she’d had fun. A lot of fun. And for the first time in ages, she really felt beautiful again.

At 3 AM, the phone rang.

She stood there, stunned, watching Miles and Josh bond over something she was too tired to care about and even though he’d said she looked amazing and he said he’d call, she was suddenly done. Miles had a problem with them, and at least right now, she wasn’t sure she could handle anything to do with him let alone men in general. He said he’d call though, which lingered around the edges of her consciousness as she pulled on jeans and a blouse and her favorite heels. Maybe, well, if he called, they could have lunch.

He did call and she couldn’t say no, as much as she knew she needed to.

But as she walked out of her office and to the elevator, the newsroom exploded with activity. The navy had just shot down an Iranian passenger airliner. 290 people dead. Murphy turned and raced back to her office, forgetting everything except her job.

Twelve hours later she called him at the hotel.

“It’s cool. Miles had to cancel too,” he chuckled. “Crazy.”

“I’m still at the office and I’m getting on a plane to Jordan in two hours,” she said. “I have a source there.”

Silence. The understanding that whatever they were building was ending.

“I had fun, Josh. I really did.”

“Can I call you next time I’m in town?” He sounded disappointed, which was good, since she was too.

“Please.” Silence. “Hey. You still owe me time on environmental law, you know.” Murphy tried to keep it light, but this felt like a much bigger breakup than it actually was.

“It’s a deal,” he replied. “Hey, Murphy.”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful, okay?”

She sighed. “Always.”

Silence. They both had things to say. Murphy blinked away the tears at the edges of her vision. God. Why the hell was she crying? They’d known each other three damn days. But she was.

“Hey.” Josh broke the moment.

“Yeah?”

“Call me when you’re back in town. Just, so I know you’re safe, okay?”

She chuckled. “Deal.”

“Good luck, Murphy.”

“Thanks, Josh.” Again, silence. She took a breath. “I’ll see you. Bye.”

“Bye.”

She hung up and pressed her fingertips into her eyes, trying to breathe. It was silly. She’d known him for three days. The sex was great and the conversation almost as good. She had a story to investigate. But this hurt. More than she wanted it to.

Still. She had a story to report.

She took a breath, shook off the tears, and finished prepping for the trip. This was why she was single. And it was good she was.


End file.
